TimeSeed 🌱⏰

TimeSeed is a high-performance Python library and CLI tool for generating chronologically ordered unique identifiers with guaranteed ordering and configurable bit allocation. Unlike fixed-format ID generators, TimeSeed lets you balance timestamp precision, sequence capacity, and randomness based on your specific needs.

Why TimeSeed?

• Strict Chronological Order: TimeSeed guarantees perfect chronological ordering
• Multiple Output Formats: Generate IDs as integers, hex, base62, base32, or binary strings
• Configurable Architecture: Adjust timestamp precision, sequence bits, and randomness to fit your use case
• High Performance: Thread-safe with optimized algorithm for high-throughput scenarios
• Comprehensive CLI: Full command-line interface for generation, decoding, benchmarking, and format conversion
• Zero Dependencies: Pure Python with no external requirements

Perfect For:

• Database primary keys that need temporal ordering
• Distributed systems requiring coordination-free ID generation
• Event sourcing and audit logs
• URL-safe identifiers with time-based sorting
• Migration from auto-increment IDs while preserving order

Fun facts about TimeSeed

With default configuration:

• 128-bit ID space supports 4.3 billion machines (2^32) each generating 4.4 trillion IDs per millisecond
• Generation rate of 10 million IDs/second would take 10^23 years to exhaust - that's 7 trillion times the universe's age
• Sequence space per millisecond (2^42) exceeds total IPv4 address space (2^32) by a factor of 1,024
• Generated 1 billion IDs? You've used only 0.00000000000000000000000000029% of the total capacity

Installation

pip install timeseed

Quick Start

Python Library

import timeseed

# Generate IDs in different formats
id_int = timeseed.generate()                    # 128-bit integer
id_hex = timeseed.generate_hex()                # 32-char hex string
id_b62 = timeseed.generate_base62()             # 22-char URL-safe base62
id_b32 = timeseed.generate_base32()             # 26-char base32
id_bin = timeseed.generate_binary()             # 128-char binary string

# Decode IDs to see components
components = timeseed.decode(id_int)
print(f"Generated at: {components.generated_at}")
print(f"Machine: {components.machine_id}")
print(f"Datacenter: {components.datacenter_id}")
print(f"Sequence: {components.sequence}")

# Advanced configuration
from timeseed import TimeSeed, TimeSeedConfig

config = TimeSeedConfig.create_custom(
    timestamp_bits=50,
    machine_bits=10, 
    datacenter_bits=8,
    sequence_bits=48
)
generator = TimeSeed(config, machine_id=42, datacenter_id=7)
custom_id = generator.generate()

Command Line Interface

# Generate single ID
timeseed generate

# Generate multiple IDs in different formats
timeseed generate -n 1000 --format hex
timeseed generate -n 100 --format base62 -o ids.txt

# Convert between formats by decoding and re-encoding
timeseed decode 12345678901234567890

# Get ID components in JSON format
timeseed decode --output-format json 12345678901234567890

# System information and configuration
timeseed info
timeseed check --examples

# Performance benchmarking
timeseed benchmark -d 30 -t 4    # 30 seconds, 4 threads
timeseed benchmark --format hex  # Test hex generation speed

# Custom configuration
timeseed --machine-id 42 --datacenter-id 7 generate
timeseed --preset high-throughput generate -n 1000

# Custom bit allocation
timeseed --timestamp-bits 50 --machine-bits 10 \
         --datacenter-bits 8 --sequence-bits 48 \
         generate --format base62

Format Conversion Capabilities

TimeSeed supports conversion between multiple formats both through the Python API and CLI:

Supported Formats

• Integer: 128-bit integer (default)
• Hex: 32-character hexadecimal string (uppercase/lowercase)
• Base62: 22-character URL-safe string (0-9, A-Z, a-z)
• Base32: 26-character Crockford base32 string
• Binary: 128-character binary string (0s and 1s)

CLI Format Conversion Examples

# Generate in different formats
timeseed generate --format integer    # 123456789012345678901234567890
timeseed generate --format hex        # A1B2C3D4E5F6789012345678ABCDEF01  
timeseed generate --format base62     # 2jk3Nm5pQ8rS1tU7vW9xYz
timeseed generate --format base32     # A1B2C3D4E5F6G7H8J9K0M1N2P3
timeseed generate --format binary     # 10101000101100110011010...

# Decode any format (auto-detection)
timeseed decode 123456789012345678901234567890
timeseed decode A1B2C3D4E5F6789012345678ABCDEF01
timeseed decode 2jk3Nm5pQ8rS1tU7vW9xYz

# Specify input format explicitly
timeseed decode --input-format hex A1B2C3D4E5F6789012345678ABCDEF01
timeseed decode --input-format base62 2jk3Nm5pQ8rS1tU7vW9xYz

# Get all format representations via Python API
python -c "
import timeseed
id_val = timeseed.generate()
generator = timeseed.TimeSeed()
formats = generator.get_all_formats(id_val)
for fmt, value in formats.items():
    print(f'{fmt}: {value}')
"

Configuration Examples

Environment Variables

# Set machine and datacenter IDs
export TIMESEED_MACHINE_ID=42
export TIMESEED_DATACENTER_ID=7

# Custom bit allocation
export TIMESEED_TIMESTAMP_BITS=50
export TIMESEED_MACHINE_BITS=10
export TIMESEED_DATACENTER_BITS=8
export TIMESEED_SEQUENCE_BITS=48

# Then use CLI normally
timeseed generate -n 100 --format hex

Preset Configurations

# High throughput (more sequence bits)
timeseed --preset high-throughput generate

# Long lifespan (more timestamp bits)  
timeseed --preset long-lifespan generate

# Many datacenters (more datacenter bits)
timeseed --preset many-datacenters generate

# Small scale (balanced for smaller deployments)
timeseed --preset small-scale generate

Default Bit Allocation

• 48 bits: Timestamp (~8920 years from epoch)
• 16 bits: Machine ID (65,536 machines)
• 16 bits: Datacenter ID (65,536 datacenters)
• 42 bits: Sequence (4.4 trillion IDs per millisecond)
• 6 bits: Reserved for future use

Total: 128 bits

Development

To set up the development environment:

# Fork and Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/timeseed.git
cd timeseed

# Install in development mode
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Check production readiness
python -m timeseed.cli check --examples

# Pre-commit hooks
pre-commit install  

CLI Help

# Get comprehensive help
timeseed --help

# Command-specific help
timeseed generate --help
timeseed decode --help
timeseed benchmark --help
timeseed info --help

Performance

TimeSeed is designed for high-performance ID generation:

• Thread-safe with minimal locking
• Optimized bit operations
• Configurable sequence overflow handling
• Built-in performance monitoring
• Benchmarking tools included

Run benchmarks to test on your system:

timeseed benchmark -d 10 -t 4  # 10 seconds, 4 threads

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to open an issue or submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.